Jets Owner To Blame for Team's Continuous Struggles

The New York Jets haven’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season, a drought that has surpassed every team in North American sports.

The Jets, in turn, have become something more than a losing franchise. They’ve become the butt of the joke, the presumed last-place finisher, and an inevitable landing spot for the next bad quarterback. It’s a stretch that has spanned multiple general managers, a handful of head coaches, and countless quarterbacks.

The common denominator is ownership.

On “Triple Option,” former head coach Urban Meyer elaborated on how poor ownership can manifest itself in the development (or lack thereof) of prospects, especially under center.

“They just happened to put him on a really bad team, a really bad organization that didn’t know how to function. And, it’s amazing to me that certain organizations just are lousy,” Meyer said. “The other one is you get stuck with, you know, a bad organization that you don’t surround him with the proper talent.”

Each of New York’s recent rookie quarterbacks has reasons to gripe with ownership. Geno Smith was replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick right as the roster improved. Sam Darnold’s teams were aggressively bad, and he found success with the Minnesota Vikings who offered him quality coaching and the league’s best receiver. Zach Wilson was even worse and saw the door slammed shut by the acquisition of Aaron Rodgers and the seismic shift that came with it.

Johnson isn’t necessarily to blame for each of those pitfalls, but good organizations find ways to get the best out of the quarterbacks. The Jets haven’t done that in over a decade, and it has impacted the rest of the operation. Between leaks and failed report cards, exposés and scandals, the Johnson administration has been an utter failure.

“I mean, the Jets are a perfect example,” replied McShay. “You’re not winning with that owner. Period. You’re not winning with that owner. And, so, as long as Woody Johnson is there and meddling?”

Good organizations don’t fire head coaches for stumbling in October, or give de facto personnel control to a 40-year-old quarterback. They don’t put their foot in their mouths at every opportunity and give the media every opportunity to justifiably pick them apart.

It’s on head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey to the right the ship Johnson has tried to capsize. He won’t make their job any easier.